Residents seek end to fairgrounds gun shows

Coalition campaign “snowballed” in wake of Sandy Hook shooting

In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut, a coalition of Del Mar residents is taking a stand against gun shows hosted at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Their campaign started with a simple hand-scrawled sign, posted last month on Crest Road, that says “Stop Del Mar Gun Show and Sale.” It lists the next show dates, coming up in March, and encourages people to show support by sending an email.

Rosanne Holliday, the sign’s creator, said she has received nothing but encouragement since the poster went up in mid-December. A meeting is scheduled for Sunday, and about 50 people interested in getting involved are slated to attend.

“It kind of snowballed,” she said of the cause.

Holliday, a former teacher of young children and a mother, said she was devastated after the Sandy Hook massacre, in which a 20-year-old man, Adam Lanza, fatally shot 26 people, mostly young children. Lanza was armed with an assault rifle and two handguns.

“The Sandy Hook shooting really hit me hard, as I’m sure it did everyone,” she said. “For days I thought and read nothing else. Part of it was thinking about the grief of these parents and the terror the children must have experienced and the bravery of those teachers. It was so overwhelming.”

Holliday was determined to do something, and she started close to home. Her goal was simple, she said.

“We want to end gun sales on public land here in Del Mar,” she said. “Everyone needs to do what they can. There are a lot of ways to tackle this national issue. I’m kind of locally-minded, and I think I can do this little bit.”

Holliday’s focus may be local, but other concerned residents who have taken up the cause have already started discussing approaching Gov. Jerry Brown, said the 73-year-old Holliday.

Bud Emerson, a Del Mar resident and community activist, was one of the first to contact Holliday about the sign. Emerson is no stranger to the issue, having protested the fairgrounds gun shows in 2000.

“You wouldn’t celebrate drug use or porn, would you?” he said of the gun show.

Emerson said the local group has already put together a draft petition against the gun show. Members are being encouraged to write letters to the City of Del Mar and the 22nd District Agricultural Association, the organization that runs the fairgrounds.

“I think we’ve just had it. People want to take a stand,” Emerson said. “The headline is, ‘Enough.’ We’re not saying you can’t have your gun if you’re a gun owner, but we don’t want you celebrating gun culture in a public facility in our neighborhood.”

The City of Del Mar has received two letters since the sign went up, staff said. While Deputy Mayor Lee Haydu and Councilman Don Mosier are expected to broach the topic with the fairgrounds, the city has not taken an official stance on the matter. Del Mar has no jurisdiction over events hosted by the fairgrounds, officials said.

“I think there will be a lot of pressure put on the council to take a stand on this,” Holliday said.

Adam Day, president of the fair board, said Crossroads of the West has been managing the fairgrounds’ gun shows for more than two decades. The organization holds five shows per year, providing a net profit of $324,000 to the fairgrounds, Day said.

“California has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country,” Day said. “The shows we host are fully licensed and in conformance with all applicable rules and regulations.”

Day said as soon as the shooting occurred, he expected comment from the public, but that so far the board hasn’t received anything. In previous years, local citizens like Emerson have protested the shows.

“If someone were to ask me to consider banning the shows, I would be looking for the correlation between these shows specifically and gun violence,” he said.

Day said there is a significant undercover law enforcement present at the fairgrounds shows and that hosting gun shows on public property provides for more stringent enforcement than what you may see on private property.

“It’s a legal business and, in some regards, has an enhanced impact on public safety by having them on public property,” he said.

Holliday said she expects group members to speak at the next fair board meeting on Tuesday.